The federal government has announced Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding awards for fiscal year 2022. The City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation is slated to receive $30,721,947 for Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and $763,000 for Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) from this new law.
"The funding we are receiving for PHL and PNE will spur a-once-in-a-generation investment into these important regional assets,” said Division of Aviation CEO Chellie Cameron. “I want to thank the stakeholders that supported this legislation. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes a much-needed down payment to upgrade aging facilities and invest in our future."
"This announcement is welcome news for the city and our residents," said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. "As we continue to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic, this funding for the airport — a major economic driver for the Philadelphia area — will be put to use to help grow the regional economy and create new jobs. Thank you to Chellie and her team for their work helping to bring this project to life."
Funding for PHL will be used, in part, to support its $1.2 billion cargo expansion program. This program, which was announced in June 2021, will see the airport increase its air cargo facility footprint by 136 acres and almost triple its cargo building square footage from 600,000 to 1.4 million.
"Philadelphia International Airport connects families, helps businesses thrive and fuels Pennsylvania’s local economies," said U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). "I'm proud to announce PHL will receive over $30 million thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure bill. These investments will create jobs in the region and help PHL remain a world-class airport."
"Philadelphia International Airport is an economic engine for our region, and I am thrilled about the possibilities for growth this award will allow," said Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05). "PHL’s vision for the use of these funds through a robust cargo expansion means new opportunities for individuals across our region. Thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, this new $30,721,947 grant will deliver good-paying jobs for Pennsylvanians while making much-needed improvements at PHL. I want to thank Mayor Kenney and Chellie for their continued leadership."
The cargo development program will not only help PHL obtain a bigger portion of air cargo that comes into the Greater Philadelphia area, it could also have an annual economic impact of $870 million for the region and create as many as 6,000 permanent jobs and approximately 5,000 construction jobs annually over the course of the project.
The expansion relies on numerous enabling infrastructure projects to prepare the property for development. PHL has already invested $90 million through airport revenue bonds and grants to enable the development of the site. These projects include an environmental assessment, a wetlands mitigation project, the construction of an aircraft parking apron and the relocation of Tinicum-Island Road, a one-mile stretch of road that currently bisects the property. Funding for PNE will be used to support capital development projects that improve the airfield infrastructure.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also authorized $5 billion for a new Terminal Modernization grant program. Funding from that program will help jump start some of the critical initiatives that are needed in order to improve the PHL guest experience.
"We are very grateful for this funding, which will help ensure the airport continues to be a regional economic engine," said Cameron. "However, while this funding will assist in providing resources to help the airport’s vision for the future become a reality, we still have a significant amount of need onsite from an infrastructure investment standpoint. Any money that we receive from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will afford us the ability to invest strategically in our facility over the next five years. In order to complete large-scale projects, we will need additional support from our state, federal, and airline stakeholders."
